Welcome to the Deacon Charitable Foundation Blog!
When I considered joining Deacon Construction almost five years ago, I did my homework. I was looking for more than a “job” – I wanted to join a team. I yearned for being part of a collaborative workforce with diverse talents and backgrounds, people who like BUILDING things. But equally important, I wanted to know that the company had a clear mission and vision, and valued volunteerism and issues of importance to me personally, including social and environmental justice and animal welfare. I saw that Deacon Construction had a Charitable Foundation – seriously?! – and I was hooked. Fortunately, Deacon also saw something in me, and has given me multiple ways to contribute to both the construction side of the company as well as the Deacon Charitable Foundation, where I serve as the Executive Director.
The core purpose of our Foundation, established in 2006, is “to improve the quality of life in the communities where we live and work by supporting organizations that address vital community needs and issues in the areas of human services, animal welfare and the environment.” But honestly, the reason I love my job is because of our tag line: “Building up our communities….and our world”.
Why do we do that? Because it’s our mission – on both the corporate side and the foundation side. And because it’s the right thing to do, given that our ability to put 4% of our pre-tax profit into our Foundation is a direct result of having the privilege to be successful builders within our communities.
How do we do that? With our people. Our people are builders – they like to create, to establish, to increase, to strengthen things around them. It’s in their blood, whether we’re talking about our jobsite superintendents who build bird blinds because what they really love is being in nature and protecting the environment, or our office staff who serve on nonprofit boards and build up vital community programs to serve in ways that speak directly to their passions.
Our Foundation gives our employees a platform that allows them to engage with high impact in their communities by organizing weekday service events and by matching their personal donations at 2:1 dollar for dollar, or at $20/hour for their volunteer time on nights and weekends. In addition, our all-volunteer Giving Committees carefully evaluate grant applications from community nonprofits and provide much-needed funding for community organizations.
I’m honored to have the opportunity to work with these wonderful people, and to bring you some of their stories. We have Giving Committees in each of our offices (Seattle, Portland, Sacramento/Pleasanton, and Irvine), and each Giving Committee has fabulous leaders who help make it possible for all of our employees to give back to our communities. If you want to learn more about working with our Foundation, check out the other pages on our website and/or reach out to any of us! And be sure to follow our Facebook page and this blog for upcoming posts.
With Gratitude,
Julie
Julie P. Earnest, PhD
Executive Director | Deacon Charitable Foundation